CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS, INTERVENTIONS AND COLLABORATION:

Hacklab: Technology, Creativity, Social Organisation

A weekend gathering for collaborative and creative reflection

February 3/4/5 – 2006

Institute for Advanced Studies

Lancaster University, North West England.

You are happily invited to the “Hacklab”, which is a follow-up event to
(sadly titled?) "Making Global Civil Society" (the funders liked it)
that took place in Lancaster, November 4/5/6. It is hosted at and with
the support of the Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS) at Lancaster
University. Since the gathering will be defined by those who get
involved in preparing it, the lists below are merely suggestions.

The plan is to experiment with formats and settings, looking for
helpful, creative moments. Suggestions so far include smaller groups,
with intimate, intense, and longer discussions about a particular topic.
For instance, 10-12 people in a room for 3-4 hours, discussing a human
rights article in relation to social movements, a question, some
concept, whatever - and, for example, write a declaration, compile a CD,
or based on note taking and audio recordings.

The ideal is to go beyond conventions.

To play and to experiment there wil also be themed spaces (hacklab setup
with alt/DIY media intros/hands-on stuff) - suggest something!

We imagine talks and discussions about things like:

*technology and social organisation, such as novel "management" and
organisation within free software projects or hacklabs, as well as DIY
media

*freedom of information & communication and related social, political,
or cultural movements

*digital divides and tribal connections

* nanotechnology and genetic modification: resistance and/or
democratisation?

* sustainable/renewable/alternative (hippie) technologies

* anarchism, cryptography, privacy and identity in cyberspace

*free hardware?

*the EU Software Patent Directive (swpat.ffii.org) as enclosure

*feminism and information technology

*primitivism (as a technology?)

*organic composition in music and elsewhere?

*psychedelic technologies

Additionally, we hope to create spaces for hands-on workshops, get in
touch if you have skills to share:

*how to use Free Software for everyday purposes, like emailing
(Thunderbird, Evolution), web surfing (Firefox), text writing
(OpenOffice.org) and photo manipulations (GIMP) etc.

*installation of GNU/Linux operating systems (to “dual-boot” with or to
replace M$ Windows)

*using the command line interface: the basics

*learning (to write) code: from sys-admin scripts to wherever your
skills may take you

*system security, privacy, encryption, set up a “safe” computer network
at home or at work

*women demystifying the box: understanding components to repair hardware
and install software

*recycle computers: provide access to the public and for artistic
installations, such as VJ-ing

*any other hacks

Participation is limited to a hundred people.

A LIMITED AMOUNT OF TRAVEL GRANTS AND FREE ACCOMODATION IS AVAILABLE.

SEND SUGGESTIONS FOR WORKSHOPS, PRESENTATIONS, AND PAPERS (MAX. 1 PAGE)

TO: n.moeller at lancaster . ac . uk

Costs, incl. (predominantly organic and vegan by 'the fat olive')
Friday dinner, Saturday lunch and dinner:

Volunteers/unpaid/unwaged: Free

Unfunded students: Donation

Funded students, Lancaster academics: £20 (additional donation welcome!)

Representatives of "smaller" NGOs: £35 (negotiable)

Representatives of "bigger" NGOs: £65

Academics: £65

http://knowledgelab.pbwiki.com/FrontPage - currently migrating to
www.knowledgelab.org.uk via
http://knowledgelab.iskra.net/wiki/Main_Page

chat: irc.indymedia.org #research - quick link:
http://chat.indymedia.org/?chans=research

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Some people are rumoured to be working on multimedia installations:
music, video and other altered states of mind.

Live improvised piano and
more Saturday night: make it the Institute of Advanced Creativity and
Improvisation :)

There is also a session being planned about how academic research
projects can learn from grassroots movements' and other cyberspace
groups' use of ICT for collaborative projects (and knowledge creation)
with the view to form a collective to provide such services for academic
research projects, -like aktivix/sindominio/autistici/mutualaid/riseup
community servers do for cultural, social and political projects. The
"profits" that could maybe be accumulated from "research contracts"
would go into a fund to have more knowledge lab events. A kind of
self-sustainable think tank, a parasite/pirate/autonomous university?

http://lists.aktivix.org/mailman/listinfo/knowledgelab

http://knowledgelab.pbwiki.com

(knowledgelab.org.uk coming soon)

(see also http://www.hacklab.org.uk)